USM Pounds Out 14 Hits In 16-2 Win Over St. Joseph's (Maine)

            GORHAM, Maine -- Senior Nick Grady (Whitefield, Maine/Erskine Academy) went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBI to pace a 14-hit attack as the University of Southern Maine Huskies baseball team defeated the St. Joseph's College (Maine) Monks 16-2 in a non-conference game at USM Baseball Stadium Tuesday afternoon.

            With the win, the Huskies extend their winning streak to 10 games and improve to 16-3 overall.  The Monks dropped their fourth straight game to slip to14-9 overall.

            Southern Maine hit four triples and stole eight bases on the day.  Grady had a triple and three singles, and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.  He also had two stolen bases.  Grady, who has registered multiple hits in seven of his last eight games, is now hitting a team-leading .494 (42-for-85) with eight doubles and 27 RBI through 19 games.

            Senior Tucker White (Deerfield, N.H./Co-Brown Northwood) went 2-for-3 with a triple, double, four runs scored and two RBI, and junior Matt Verrier (Norway, Maine/Oxford Hills) was a perfect 2-for-2 with four RBI and two runs scored.  White's triple increased his USM career-leading mark to 23.  Junior Troy Thibodeau (Danvers, Mass./New Hampton) finished 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI and two runs scored, and freshman Sam Dexter (Oakland, Maine) added two singles.

            Sophomore right-hander Andrew Richards (South Portland, Maine) pitched 2.2 innings of relief giving up no runs on three hits to earn his second win of the season.  Richards is now 2-1. Southern Maine freshman Shyler Scates (Jefferson, Maine/Erskine Academy) started and pitched 4.1 solid innings giving up two runs — one earned — on two hits while striking out two before being relieved by Richards.

            St. Joseph's senior right-hander Chad Rafferty (Keene, N.H.) started on the mound and went 5.0 innings.  Rafferty gave up 11 runs on nine hits while striking out three and was tagged with the loss.  He is now 2-2 on the year.

            The Huskies plated three runs in the second inning to take a 3-0 lead.  Thibodeau drove in the Huskies first run on a RBI single to right center that scored Grady, and Verrier later scored when freshman Nick DiBiase (Portland, Maine/Deering) reached on a fielder's choice.  Thibodeau then scored on a double steal with DiBiase to make it 3-0.

            Southern Maine added three more runs in the third on RBI triples by White and Bernard, and a sacrifice fly off that bat of Verrier.

            The Monks responded by scoring two runs in the fourth inning.  Freshman Tim Beaudette (Uxbridge, Mass.) singled to lead off the inning, and later scored when sophomore Joe Coyne (Duxbury, Mass.) reached on a fielder's choice.  Senior Mike Pratt (Dartmouth, Mass./Bishop Stang) lifted a sacrifice fly to center that brought home freshman Zack Graham (Marlborough, Mass./Hudson) to score the Monks' second run and cut the Huskies' lead to 6-2.

            Southern Maine answered St. Joe's two-run inning with five more runs in the fifth, and scored two in the sixth and three in the seventh to extend their lead to 16-2.

            Richards and three other relievers combined to hold St. Joe's scoreless over the final 4.2 innings.

            The Huskies return to action tomorrow (4:00 p.m.) when they host Colby College in a non-conference matchup at USM Baseball Stadium.  The Monks will host Norwich University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference doubleheader tomorrow (2:00 p.m.) at Larry Mahaney Diamond.

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